Just Friends
by andthecosmogirl
Summary: Two broke best friends and roommates navigate through life by attempting to solve their problems by sidestepping the missteps of their past. The question remains, are they really just friends? ZigMaya (Updated 7/28)


Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Before reading please read this short note - -

Story so far is essentially Zig and Maya in their twenties, still roommates just no rules! Fresh out of college and already bored with the menial life. They're pretty broke in between jobs, but right now Maya's the only employed one. They share a loft and as far as they are concerned they're _just friends_. They've been working odd jobs and other jobs, their careers aren't yet promising on their job searches post university. They're starving artist types who live by the seam of their pants and whatever takes them to their next gig or job. It just so happens they're both sort of clueless even if they are a little older, they just had high expectations about it. Maya is still unlucky in love and Zig is luckier as in he tends to fall fast and then get over things with two month max girlfriends if you could even call them that. So that's essentially the story so far, the same 'starcrossed' lovers just a bit older and not so wiser? Perhaps that's a bit up for debate and it's pretty premature. There's a lot to the story which will be explained throughout but just wanted to let readers know about the canon before I jump right in.

Thanks for taking the time to read. If you like the story, leave a review to let me know what you think. I've been playing with this storyline for a while now and I'm super anxious about posting it.

**Chapter One - - 9 to 5 Coffee Grind**

Maya Matlin's groggy azure eyes fluttered opened at the sound of her beeping outdated Iphone she uses as alarm. There had been around three new Iphones since, but it still works and holds a charge somehow. She hasn't lost it at the a bar or a club, all in all a good omen. She agitated groaned as she turned around in her sleep clinging to those lingering moments of slumber. She had already been awake today to hit the snooze around ten minutes ago determined to feel a little more rested but she wanted to at least give it a try.

Annoyed within seconds and not at all planning on leaving her bed she tossed herself again on her side desperate for those last few winks. She quickly resigned that she'd be up for good as she stood against the headboard with a groan, stretching her arms and legs. Maya rubbed her tired dry eyes with a sigh. The beep beeping of her alarm she couldn't be bothered to turn off until it got to this point, she leaned over with one hand to retrieve and then blindly grasped around for her glasses from the beside table. Lastly, she leapt out of bed and raced to turn off her alarm.

She yawned again with exaggerating movement stretched out her slender legs before her feet finally hit the hardwood floor. She put on yesterdays bra, she couldn't be bothered to rummage through her drawers, and besides the rest of her bras have unfortunate underwires poking or they are just plain dirty. It'd have to do, she thought to herself. She didn't have time to be picky or lamenting, she was already late.

Maya knew she was on a strict time-table she managed to brush her teeth in the shortest shower she could, with her hair in a bun. After which she fastened her bra and threw on over her light blue work uniform she detested. The uniform itself was humiliating by all standards, they're hand-me-downs of hand-me-downs, Goodwill charity bin. When she bought it, she had to take it to the laundry mat a few times to get the stench of stale cigarette's in it. Sewn in the inner collar are the names of the earlier women who donned the ugly, outdated frock, you couldn't make out the text on the tags on washing, some look faded and some remain legible. It had a stiff collar. She hopelessly looked out her tall mirror on her bathroom door attempting to style her hair in anything other than just pulling it back, before settling and doing just that because her wavy stands refused to cooperate.

Sometimes she felt like Cinderella being up at dawn, of course being readied for the breakfast crowd. "Why?," She cursed herself silently, "Why did I press snooze and go back to sleep?" With no time to get properly readied for work, she tied the dated looking pinafore-esque style apron over her shift-dress, finally adjusted her name tag in the mirror before finally racing out the door. With college, she expected she wouldn't be working crappy minimum wage but lo and behold, here she is. She expected to be working somewhere in a desk somewhere filing at the very least, ideally her passions existed in music but there's not much you could do with a music degree anymore, you may as well in this economy use it as toilet paper to wipe your ass with, not necessarily get by on. While she was extremely gifted, talent isn't always enough.

When she begrudgingly arrived at her job, not far from her apartment she noticed her impatient boss roll his eyes, "You're late." It's almost as if he reveled in making her feel like an incompetent and lazy dunce. Waitress wasn't her career choice and clearly it's not something that she's excited about waking up to but her boss doesn't make it any easier. Maya has no business being a waitress, she's clumsy and forgetful and often has to pay out-of-pocket. She's absolutely lousy but she's friendly, and she winds up making most of her cash in tips. Even though she screws up, she still makes bank.

Her boss was a tall, stout guy, thinning hair up top with rather large eyebrows with his arms crossed by the door like a statue. Sometimes Maya believes he chases customers way by being the way he is, but she'd dare not say. His family owns the diner. She needs the money, she needs the job and its solid pay. Her naturally sunny personality garners her tips.

There she met her first customer sitting at the diner bar with an empty cup of coffee and a newspaper covering their face, she let out a heaving sigh as she was somewhat out of breath from the jog over. In her most pleasant of voices, mostly fearful he's a secret shopper of sorts she exclaimed, "Hello good morning, did you decide on what you wanted?"

"Just coffee." The voice grumbled behind the paper before slowly lowering the newspaper as she absent mindedly grabbed the coffee from the burner and looked over to her old pal, her roommate Zig Novak, "Hey babe."

Maya shoved him playfully, whispering swiftly to avoid attention from people around, "I _just_ made it, not a second before. Why didn't you wake me?"

Zig smirked and shrugged his shoulders, "You were too _adorable_ to wake. I heard it go off, thought you already were awake, figured I'd meet you here. I remember things, I'm not a dummy."

"Flattery works with what was his name again from T_he Notebook_? Noah or whatever, but this is real life my dear," She narrowed her eyes shaking her head, pouring him coffee before he quickly grasped the sugar and dumped it down as she pulled the pot back on the hot plates, "What do you want?"

"You're not mad?"

"Of course I'm a little mad. Can you blame me? I had to rush. I didn't get a chance to wash my hair."

"Boo hoo."

"Boo hoo I don't have a job." Maya joked gesturing to the menu, "What do you want?"

Zig continued spouting off at the mouth, Nothing, I just felt like hanging out. I hate being cooped up in the apartment with nothing to do when you're at work."

"Besides the odd word _job_?"

Zig made a funny face as Maya replied pretty seriously, "Well I appreciate you coming by, especially working with," she whispered quietly midway through a yawn which she covered her mouth right as it came out, looking behind her so she wasn't caught shit talking her boss, "the mean one."

Zig beamed content lowering his voice, "I figured you wouldn't mind, you know working with _him_ first thing could be kind of a drag."

"Thanks again, for thinking of me, I appreciate it. You just _have_ to order something you can't stay here all shift and not order anything. I'm not in the mood to deal with his shit today let me tell you that, and leave it."

He scoffed at her remark which was what he normally did, just today was different, "You think I have money?"

"No." Maya replied bluntly.

"But oh contraire!" Zig pulled out a wad of cash. It wasn't much, but it was a lot of money. With his other hand he lifted the coffee cup to his lips and took a sip. Maya kept her hands busy by impulsively adding sugars from behind the counters to replace the ones Zig used.

Maya was taken back immediately she stopped what she was doing. The first thing that came to mind was _drugs_ but the first thing that came out of her mouth was somewhat of a third degree, "Where did you nab that epic wad?"

"I'm a gigolo." He answered comically puffing out his muscular chest before getting back to his typical slouch.

"Well congratulations on getting laid, want a cake or a cookie?"

He laughed shaking his head, "Nah, nah. I lugged some boxes over to our new neighbor move in, you'll never believe it! The cat lady moved!" Maya gasped dodging a look from her boss from behind Zig pretending to write something on her pad, Zig swallowed hard after a laugh, "Well she got evicted because she hadn't been paying rent because one of her cats is missing or something, and she thinks Benny did it."

"Shut up!" Maya exclaimed, "at least the hall won't smell like kitty litter and catshit." Maya added somewhat sentimental with a frown, "Though, I'll miss Buttons."

Buttons was the smallest cat in the brood. She was small enough to get under the communal kitchen door and into Maya and Zig's loft attic apartment. She earned her keep eating mice in the house they shared, they were 2 out of the three dwelling apartment house. She ultimately most likely left when The Cat Lady left and moved out.

"She's uh missing so she's probably somewhere around the apartment, freaking out, whatever. It's something we'll worry about a little later. Before I left I left it out for her.

"Well, order up because my job depends on it, while I'm young." Maya replied lifting the pen awaiting a response impatiently tapping her foot.

"I want the Hungry Man breakfast please, grand slam whatever you call it. I want to eat like a king, for the first time in forever."

"That person must have money, huh?"

Zig shrugged rather plainly, "I guess."

He made the face, the one he always manages, that smug face. Maya shakes her head as she jotted down his order and disappeared into the kitchen to put in the order, she finally re-entered the dining room and poured some other people waiting quietly by the bar their coffee before finally meeting Zig once again, "So details, _Casanovak_. What does the new neighbor look like?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." Zig winked back jokingly, reveling that he had a secret.

"Well yeah so we don't have another catlady situation where she and her cats ate through a wall and we had to call the landlord on vacation and . . . "

He raised and eyebrows and confessed leaning against the back of the chair reclining, "She was hot."

Maya shook her head and tisked at Zig's womanizing ways, somehow he seems to find all kinds of girls wherever he goes and evidently at home was no exception. He just doesn't really let himself get tied down for long, he often breaks a lot of hearts by refusing to really commit he's just never been very good at relationships, mostly because of the one unrequited that he can't seem to get past. He doesn't speak about it, but last time they did it almost ended their friendship. He's had girlfriends but they don't last more than a few months. "She?" She asked with a scoff, "Let me guess, a leggy brunette? That's your type."

"Do not, Maya don't you dare try to play matchmaker, she's kind of lost cause. She's one of those kids moving in on mommies dime. She wouldn't last a month in our building, I brought in a lot of clothes and Louis Vutton luggage. She's like a little younger than us." Zig added, "Well I don't discriminate you know, I still like me some blondes."

"So she's a moneybags? I know how much you _love_ people like that."

"She was nice enough but, I don't think she'll last in the apartment." He said, taking another sip of the hot coffee, "It's not like I expected the money for helping out."

"Well what can I say? When you have a disposable income you essentially pay off everyone."

"Well I helped her just this once, and I'm sure she would've paid anyone to help out. It's what people do Maya stop making it into something it isn't." He replied already tired of the conversation that Maya kept on pushing at he mindlessly grabbed his cup of cooling coffee to his lips breathing in the aroma before taking a sip and setting it back down on the napkin, "Best cup of coffee."

"You're lying. You know in the job description of my best friend you don't have to flatter me at work."

Zig shrugged his shoulder, "Nah, I like their brew. It truly lives up to its name though, Worlds Best Cup of Coffee."

"Whatever you say, Will Ferrell."

"I'm kind of hurt." He argued back jokingly, "what are your plans for the rest of the day?"

"I was going to ask you what you wanted to do? How to blow a few bucks around town this afternoon?"

"When you get done your shift? Ice-cream my treat?"

"If it's Mint Chocolate Chip, I'm in." Maya replied rather sunny, before she adjusted her glasses, "Because I'm as broke as a joke."

"What about birthday cake from Genes?" Zig asked, as that was his favorite flavor.

"Tell you what scoop of each, I'm in." Maya replied absentmindedly checking things at the counter, making herself look as productive as possible in front of her grouchy boss. She glanced up and saw that he was busy. Gene's is the local ice cream parlor and the go to hang out for Zig and Maya. Often Genes would host open mics and poetry slams with the artsy types who they hung around with.

"Then it's settled, I will see you later."

"Bye." She whispered under her breath as she noticed he had already dashed for the door, but that was typical of him to come around for some small talk and then go off and do his own thing. Maya removed the tip and put it in her pocket, it was pretty generous tipped twenty for a coffee that was worth about 90 cents. It wasn't really a surprise to her that he dashed out that quick, he knew she'd refuse to take it even though she could really use the money. Maya ran back into the kitchen to cancel his order, he did that a lot either he stayed all shift to spend time with her or he'd order something he knew he couldn't afford. Just a coffee, just enough to see his best friend in the world.

She went back to the counter and saw a guy seated where Zig was seated reading the menu. He looked up at Maya and offered her a look. If there was one thing Maya would call her weakness, it'd be guys. Zig wasn't like that, fortunately for her.

A cough from the seat that Zig ghosted broke through her thoughts. An unfamiliar yet alluring voice asked, "Excuse me, waitress?"

Seated is a light-haired guy, dressed in a suit. He had a newspaper he abandoned when he got a look at Maya as she breathlessly apologized. She couldn't really take her eyes from him as she stepped into the trance, "Sorry about that."

"It's fine, ma'am. You going to take my order or not?" He asked somewhat nagging or he was in a hurry. He had an accent sounds European and not only was he good-looking but he was from somewhere else dignified refined and that was something that she took an immediate interest. He wasn't familiar, he wasn't the same guys who run amok at the diner. He wasn't from around here. He didn't have a ring, he had his briefcase on the chair. Now this is someone she'd break her consecutive time without a boyfriend, two months. Maya's never been the luckiest in love. Everything always ends in heartbreak. Of course, she'd never get her hopes up. He's her type though, people who have been places and seen a lot of things, or at least what she thinks her type would be. All of these people she garners such hopes for tend to disappoint her.

Once she dated a guy who lied to her for months, Anthony when he said he was going to work he was really going to work out at the gym his personal trainer turns out he had a sugar momma taking care of him but he was on his own for an indeterminate amount of time. Maya had a membership at the gym and took a shower in the locker-room and found them together.

Then there was Chris who had girl issues dating back to middle school and as early as middle school and she felt like more of a shrink than a girlfriend.

Then there were the college guys, mostly people to hang on when she got white girl wasted at parties when Zig was hooking up with god knows what and god knows who unable to commitment to a single one for more than a two month max. He ensures it that way so nobody gets hurt, and the proverbial band-aid gets ripped earlier as opposed to later.

Needless to say that didn't last long and Maya just gave up on finding dates and allows fate to intervene if things don't work. If there's any sign that Maya knew she was to have some rough road in romance it's that her first boyfriend was suicidal and everything else has been one mistake and misstep after another. At least she'd have her friend Zig, who finally got over her sometime in high school, there's love there but the love shared between two friends. If a creepy guy is on her back, Zig will play the intimidating boyfriend type. Lately for the first time in forever Maya and Zig are both single at the same time, which makes for a lot of time where they can be besties and do what they do best. It's high school all over again with them, spending time in the kitchen like they did back in their Degrassi days.

"Well of course," She started to say a bit flustered with a winning smile, "Good morning, I'm Maya. I'll be waiting on you today. Would you like to hear our specials?"

"I just wanted the two-eggs breakfast, orange juice and for you possibly to let me know when your shift ends?"

Entranced, thinking to herself _Well that was slick_, she mindlessly jotted down the time for him, and his order when she snapped back to reality, "Two, why?"

"I was just wondering, if you'd like to perchance go out somewhere with me." When she didn't say anything back due to the pause, her eyes widened, he laughed, "I know, I can be a bit blunt. I just like to say what I mean, and mean what I say."

"Seriously?" Maya asked aloud, uncomfortable with the notion, "You don't say but I'm on the clock."

"It's crazy, I know. You don't even know my name, but I just - I'd really like to take you out, _Maya_."

"How did-" Looking down and remember where she was for a second and how she managed to early put her foot in her mouth. _You introduced yourself dummy!_ she thought to herself. Perplexed she looked at him again, unable to wipe a stupid smile from her lips, wondering what exactly she had to lose. _It's not like Zig would be upset if she had some juicy gossip._ Flustered but keeping her composure as well as her cheeks from blushing long enough she added, "Well I have plans this afternoon, how about tonight at eight?"

"Well then, like the say it's a date, and uh I like my eggs scrambled well with bacon."

"Right! Of course." She replied with a smile, jotting the last of it, but she was too busy eyeing him that it looked nearly illegible, "No pressure right?"

Normally Maya would ask how the person would like the bacon or if they'd prefer it with toast, but she was in no place to form coherent sentences without sounding like a ditz. She had only had a moment like that where she couldn't speak, think or anything and this was a moment like that the first time she met her best friend.

"Take your time." The guy muttered, before she looked back, "And you know mine, but what about you, your name?"

"Thomas." He replied confidently, "Fuck it, my dad is Thomas, call me Tommy."

"Okay Tommy, see you in a bit I have some other tables to attend to." And then she was off but as she turned the corner she leaned against the kitchen door, and let out a sigh of relief and a smile played on her lips she had a date tonight and it just fell into her lap just like that. There's got to be some sort of catch, she thought to herself as she tore the paper from her book in a daze before she told the chef, "Order Two eggs special, scrambled."


End file.
